Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016
Labour force statusDictionary, Census of Population, 2016
Labour force status

Definition

'Labour force status' refers to whether a person was employed, unemployed or not in the labour force during the reference period. The labour force consists of persons who contribute or are available to contribute to the production of goods and services falling within the System of National Accounts production boundary.

Statistical unit(s)

Person 15 years or over

Classification(s)

Labour Force Status
Collapsed – Labour Force Status
Employed Status

Reported in

2016 (25% sample); 2011^{Note 1} (30% sample); 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986 and 1981 (20% sample). For availability prior to 1981, please refer to Appendix 2.0.

Reported for

Population aged 15 years and over in private households

Question number(s)

Derived variable: Questions 30 to 35

Responses

For the values for the Labour force status variable, see:

Table 6.2 Values for the Labour force status variable

Remarks

For more information, see the definitions for Employed person, Unemployed and Not in the labour force variables.

The Labour force status categories were derived from the responses to the following questions on the census questionnaire:

• Hours worked for pay or in self-employment (Question 30)
• On temporary lay-off or absent from job or business (Question 31)
• New job to start in four weeks or less (Question 32)
• Looked for full-time or part-time paid work in the past four weeks (Question 33)
• Reasons unable to start a job (Question 34)
• When last worked for pay or in self-employment (Question 35).

See Figure 6.1 for the components of population and labour force activity.

For information on the comparability of 2016 Census labour force activity data with those of the Labour Force Survey, see Appendix 6.1.

Note